EXCLUSIVE: Tenants of NYC three-quarter houses see living conditions worsen under city, state regulations

Frederick Henderson (left) and Arnold Rivera have seen conditions get worse at their Bronx residence, which is owned by Samaritan Village. (Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News)

Out of the flophouse, into the fire.

Down-and-out residents of a chain of unregulated, allegedly corrupt three-quarter houses say life has actually gotten worse since the city and state began regulating the residences in July.

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The homes formerly run by Narco Freedom are now operated by Samaritan Village in the Bronx and the Acacia Network in Brooklyn. But cleaning up the mess left behind by Narco execs has been no easy task.

"These guys are state-approved. It was supposed to get better. This is no place for anyone to live!" said Todd Taylor, 54, who lives at a Samaritan Village residence on Third Ave. in the Bronx.

On the day the Daily News spoke with Taylor and others at the house, the elevator had been out of service for a day.

"I'm wheelchair-bound, and the elevator is not working. I have to climb stairs on all fours!" Taylor said. "It's disgusting. They have no maintenance men on the payroll. It's infested. Mice, roaches — guys have seen rats. The plumbing is atrocious."

Taylor's complaints mirrored those of other residents, who said the new operators — approved by Manhattan Federal Court Judge John Koeltl — feed them terrible food and require they sign up for treatment programs they don't need to keep a roof over their heads.

"We were hoping for better. That's not what's happening. They've done nothing to make it any better," said Fred Henderson, 57.

Samaritan Village runs this three-quarter house in the Bronx. (Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News)

Officials did not deny the challenges of the transition. They said 16 Narco residences have been consolidated to eight, and that the total population of people in the homes has been cut from about 1,100 to 670.

Supportive living is also supposed to include meals, but most of the Narco residences did not have kitchens, officials said. That left staff scrambling to provide food, leading to regular servings of bologna sandwiches and school-style milk boxes that residents said they despise.

"The city has been working closely with the state to help the residents of the Narco Freedom houses, which are now state supportive-living residences, and to avoid having them suddenly become homeless," city Human Resources Administration spokesman David Neustadt said.

A spokesman for the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services said the agency had taken "unprecedented action to ensure that individuals were relocated to necessary treatment and supportive living arrangements."